Rotating amusement cylinder



Feb. l, 1955 E. w. HoFFMElsTER ROTATING AMUSEMENT CYLINDER 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 10, 1952 I I l l INVENYjoR. 'rnsi W. foffmusler Feb. l, 1955 E. w. HoFFMEls-rER ROTATING AMUSEMENT CYLINDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 10, 1952 Erns WHoffm einer m. m m m WMM/m IITTORNEY.

United States Patent O ROTATING AMUSEMENT CYLINDER Ernst W. Hoffmeister, Ehem, Unterfranken, Germany Application January 10, 1952, Serial No. 265,836

Claims. (Cl. 272-46) The invention relates to an amusement apparatus of the type described in my co-pending application Serial Number 116,000 filed September 16, 1949 (now U. S. Patent No. 2,586,333 granted February 19, 1952), and of which the present application is a continuation in part.

The invention aims to provide a cylinder rotatable about its vertical axis, the interior of which is accessible to the users of the apparatus, the cylinder being equipped with movable means to support the users while the cylinder is standing still, and to be withdrawn from supporting position when the cylinder is rotated at a speed causing a centrifugal force sufllcient to urge the users against the cylinder wall and to hold them adhering to the wall due to the friction resulting from that force.

The invention further aims to provide a platform rotatable and axially movable within the cylinder as a means for temporarily supporting the users of the apparatus.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the cylinder is maintained in upright position, and of other means to operate the apparatus.

Further objects and details of the invention will be apparent from the description given hereinafter and the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment thereof by way of example. In the drawing,

Fig. l is a side elevation, part of the cylinder being broken away, of an apparatus according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cylinder of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the base structure and driving means of the apparatus, the cylinder being removed',

Fig. 4 is a section in a vertical plane of a means for raising and lowering the platform within the cylinder;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of an entrance door of the cylinder;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section of a guiding means of the platform;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section along line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic partial view in section of a modification, and

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic partial view in section of another modification.

Referring to the drawing Figs. l to 7, the apparatus comprises a cylinder in general denoted by 10 and rotatable about its vertical axis a-u. It is constructed of a plurality of vertical struts 11 and rings 12 of T crosssection, and a wall or planking 13 is secured to the inner side of the strut and ring structure. For the reason which will be explained hereinafter, the inner face of the planking is preferably covered with a layer 14 of a material such as leather or rubber having high frictional qualities. This lining may be so constructed that it constitutes a padding of the inner cylinder surface. The cylinder is open at its upper end and may be open also at its lower end except for a bottom structure to support a cylinder axle if such is present as in the case of the illustrated embodiment. The bottom structure comprises radial beams 15 of H cross-section connected with their inner ends by an upper central plate 16 and a lower plate 17. The outer ends of the beams 15 are secured to the lowermost ring 12 which bears on top of the beams. A tubular axle 1S extends through a central opening 19 of the connected girders and plates and is secured thereto by means of a flange 20 welded to the axle and screwed on the girder assembly by means of bolts 21.

In order to support the cylinder a ring shaped race or track 22 is secured by suitable means for instance by 2,701,137 Patented Feb. l, 1955 welding to the lower faces of the beams 15. This race bears on a number of wheels 23 mounted each on a stub axle 24 which is supported in a bearing bracket 25 erected on a floor structure 26 of any suitable design. In order to insure smooth running of the cylinder on the wheels 23, the latter are preferably provided with pneumatic tires 27. Although the cylinder axle 18 which is journaled as hereinafter described, together with the supporting wheels 23, safely hold the cylinder in the upright position, additional means may be provided as a further measure of safety positively to guide the cylinder on its periphery. For this purpose, another ring-shaped track or race 2S is secured to the struts 11 of the cylinder structure in the present embodiment. A number of wheels 29 equally distributed about the circumference of the cylinder bear against the track 28. The wheels 29 which for the same reasons as the wheels 23 may be provided with pneumatic tires 30 are mounted and freely rotatable on tripods 31 erected on the floor structure 26, and connected to one another by spacers 32 to provide a wheel-supporting framework. Thus the wheels 29 will insure a true axial position of the cylinder 10 regardless whether the cylinder stands still or whether it rotates.

Means are provided to rotate the cylinder. For this purpose, an electric motor 33 drives a change speed transmission 35 by means of an endless member such as a chain or belt 34. The transmission 35 in turn drives via belts 37, 38 one of the group of wheels 23 which for identification is denoted by 36. Preferably the change speed transmission is 'of a well known type permitting progressive alteration of the speed. Owing thereto it will be possible to adjust the cylinder speed as desired.

Means are provided to support users of the apparatus temporarily. ln the illustrated embodiment such means consist of a platform 40 interiorly of the cylinder. The platform 40 rotates with the cylinder and can be raised and lowered during the rotation. The platform consists of a number of radial beams 41 covered by a planking 42. The inner ends of the radial beams 41 are secured to a ring flange 43 by means of bolts 44. In order to guide the platform a number of vertical rails 45 are inserted in the cylinder wall 13 and project with a triangular portion of their cross-sections into the interior of the cylinder. In registry with each rail 45 the platform 40 is provided with a recess 46 through which a bracket structure 47 extends as clearly shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Bracket 47 is secured to the platform by an L-shaped piece 48. Within bracket 47 two vertically spaced rollers 49 and 50 are journaled. The rollers have V-shaped grooves 51 and engage the coordinate rails 45. According to the illustrated structure, the bracket 47 entirely encloses the rollers so that the users cannot be injured by contacting them. It will be noted that on the one hand the rollers by engaging the rails insure common rotation of the platform and the cylinder and that on the other hand, owing to the vertical spacing of the rollers of each pair, the platform is prevented from tilting with respect to the cylinder axis.

Vertical movement of the platform inside the cylinder can be accomplished by any suitable and conventional means, be it by mechanical, electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic means. It has been stated that axis 18 is a tube which is rotatable with the cylinder and fixed thereto against relative movement in axial direction by means of flange 20 bolted to the bottom girders 15. This tube constitutes a plunger relatively to which an elongated cylinder 52 of a hydraulic system is movable in the vertical direction. The cylinder 52 is closed by a top disc 53 to which a pressure gauge 54 may be applied. Intermediate its ends, a flange 55 is welded and inclined struts 56 connect the flange to the platform beams 41 so that the platform is carried by the cylinder 52. The struts are covered by boards or the like 57 so that for the protection of the users a closed pyramidal structure 58 is obtained. The aforementioned flange 43 which connects the beams 41 is part of a gland structure 59 which is secured to the lower end of the hydraulic cylinder 52 by means of a flange connection 60. The gland contains packing material at 61 to prevent leaking of pressure fluid interiorly of the cylinder. Similarly the lower end of the axle or plunger tube 18 is provided with a gland 62 which encompasses a stationary tube 63 with respect to which plunger 18 with gland 62 can rotate in a roller-bearing 64. The casing 65 of the bearing is carried by a supporting structure 66 mounted on the door structure 26. The stationary tube 63 is connected at 67 to a pipe line 68 which conducts pressure fluid from and to the hydraulic cylinder and plunger assembly. The system for charging pressure fluid may be of any suitable and conventional type. In the diagrammatical illustration of Fig. 3, the system comprises a pressure pump 69 from which pressure fluid can be pumped into an accumulator 70 via a control box 71. A pipe 72 leads from the accumulator to a three Way valve 73, in the one position of which connection will be established between pipes 72 and 68 so that pressure uid will enter the plunger tube 18 and cylinder 52 in order to raise the platform. Another tube 74 connects the valve 73 to the pump 69 so that in another position of the valve 73 fluid can be returned from the cylinder and plunger assembly to the pump for lowering the platform. Thus, the platform can be moved as desired, regardless of whether or not the cylinder is rotated.

Users may enter the apparatus from the open top of the cylinder 10, for instance by means of retractable stairways (not shown) which may lead from a gallery for onlookers on a level above the cylinder 10. Otherwise, a door 75 may be provided in the side wall of cylinder 10 on the level of the platform when the latter is in its raised position. The illustrated door is attached to the cylinder 10 by means of a hinge 76 with pivot pin 77. In the closed position the door can be securely fastened by bolts 78 in engagement with fittings 79 provided on the door and fittings 80 provided on the cylinder outside.

The apparatus operates in the following manner: While the cylinder 10 is standing still and platform 40 is in its raised position shown in solid lines in Fig. l users may enter the cylinder either from the open top or through the door 75. After the users have taken their stand on the platform, any means such as the mentioned stairway for entering the cylinder from the top will be removed and doors 75 will be closed and locked. Thereupon the electric motor 33 will be energized to drive wheel 35 so that cylinder 10 begins to rotate. When the cylinder has reached a certain speed the centrifugal force will urge the users against the padding of the inner cylinder wall, and when the centrifugal force is sufficiently high the users will adhere to that wall without any further support. Thereupon, by operating the valve 73 so as to return the pressure iiuid from the hydraulic cylinder 52 to the pump 69, the platform 40 may be lowered to the position indicated in dash and dot lines in Fig. l and denoted by 41. As stated above, any relative peripheral movement of the platform with respect to the cylinder is prevented at any time. While during rotation of the cylinder the platform is in its lower position the users adhering to the cylinder wall can move freely on that wall without risking falling down. Before the cylinder decelerates the platform will be raised to its original position so as to support the users during the deceleratiolili period and when the cylinder has come to a standsti In the embodiment hereinbefore described the reciprocable support is movable in relation to the cylinder in the axial direction. It is possible to design supports which for the purpose of removing them from supporting position can be shifted in other directions e. g. in the radial or in the peripheral direction, in directions which have at least a component other than axial. In the modification diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 8, there are a plurality of reciprocable supports which can move with a radial and an axial component, in that each support can be turned about a horizontal axis substantially located in the cylinder wall.

In order to simplify the illustration, only those portions of the apparatus are shown in Fig. 8, which are essential for the understanding of the structure and operation. With respect to all other parts and portions, as e. g. the drive for rotating the cylinder reference is had to the embodiment of Figs. l to 7.

In Fig. 8 the cylinder in general is denoted by 100. One of the vertical girders 101 is visible which are connected to the radial girders 102 in spider arrangement at the lower cylinder end. To the lower side of the girders 102, a race 103 is secured which iS ,Similar i9 the race 22 described with regards to Figs. l and 4, and with which the cylinder can bear on the wheels 23. Ring girders 104 are planked on their inside to form the cylinder wall 105. The wall extends downward as far as a bottom 106 which for a purpose to be explained hereinafter is spaced a distance from the radial girders 102. A plurality of movable supports 107 are provided. Although only two such supports are shown, a large number will be provided in practice in order to accommodate as many persons as possible. Each support 107 cornprises a plate 108 which is hinged at 108 to the cylinder wall structure so that it can be inwardly projected at right angles to the cylinder axis a--a into supporting position, and can be swung down from such position to be substantially flush with the inner cylinder' wall. The supports may be arranged all on one level or they may be provided on different levels as in Fig. 8. Means are provided to reciprocate the supports betwen the supporting and non-supporting positions during the rotation of the cylinder. For this purpose, a link 109 is hinged with its one end to the plate 108 at 110 and with its other end to a nut 1.11 which engages a vertical screw spindle 112. Spindle 112 is journaled in bearings 113 secured to the girder structure of the cylinder outside the wall planking 105. In order to render the movement of the link 109 possible so as to swing the plate 108 up or down as nut 111 moves when the spindle 112 is turned, the cylinder Wall is provided with a slot 114 of sufficient length underneath the plate 108, and the link 109 is passed through that slot. The lower end of the spindle 112 projects into the space between the bottom 106 and the girders 102. A bevel wheel 115 is secured to it and meshes with another bevel wheel 116 on a shaft 117 journaled in bearings 118 which are fixed on top of the girders 102. A worm 119 is secured to the other end of the shaft and meshes with a worm wheel on the shaft of a reversible electric motor 121 which is positioned on the girders 102 close to the cylinder axis. The leads 122 of the motor extend downward through an axial opening 123 between the inner ends of the girder and may be connected with a current source by any suitable and conventional means not shown to transmit current from a stationary part to a rotating part. Only one of the spindles 112 may be connected directly to motor 121 by means of the parts 115 to 120. In order to move all supports simultaneously in the same manner, the spindle 112 provided with the bevel wheel 115 carries a sprocket wheel 124, and all the other spindles carry similar sprocket wheels on the same level as the wheel 124, as e. g. the sprocket wheel 124 on the spindle 112. An endless chain 125 is in engagement with all the sprocket wheels on their outsides. Thus, if the motor 121 is energized all spindles 112 and 112 will be rotated in the same direction and with the same speed, and it will be clear that all supports can be simultaneously moved into or out of supporting position during the rotation of the cylinder 100.

While the cylinder is standing still, users may reach the supports 107 either from the open top of the cylinder 100 or through doors suitably located in the cylinder wall, as it has been described with respect to the embodiment of Figs. l to 7.

Whereas in the embodiment and in the modification hereinbefore described the supporting means for the user is movable in relation to the rotating cylinder, the invention also contemplates the possibility of moving the cylinder relatively to the support while both cylinder and the support rotate together. Such a modification is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 9. In this modification, the supporting platform 200 comprises the planking 201 and girders such as 202 and 203 in any suitable arrangement and connection to form a solid structure. The girder 203 carries on its lower face the race 204 similar to the race 22 in Fig. l for wheels 23 (not shown in Fig. 9). Upright pillars 205 are erected on and safely secured to the periphery of the platform 200. There may be e. g. six or any adequate other number of pillars 205 equally spaced from one another. To laterally extending brackets 206 of the pillars, another race 207 may be fastened in a manner similar to the race 28 and for the same purpose as in Fig. l. The pillars may be connected by a circular girder 208 and other members to reinforce the structure. A cylinder 209 is located within the space dened by the pillars. To its top, flexible members 210 such as wire ropes are attached as many as there are pillars, and each rope is passed over a pulley 211 journaled on top of the coordinate pillar. Short channel-shaped pieces 212 may be attached to the outside of the cylinder 209 and engage the pillars 205 to guide the cylinder and to prevent it from an undesired swinging with respect to the platform 200.

In order to move the cylinder up and down during the rotation of the apparatus, each rope 210 is downward extended from its associated pulley 211 to another pulley 213 and from there to a drum 214 rotatable about a vertical axis and journaled in the platform structure eccentrically with respect to the apparatus axis aa. Thus, if there are six ropes 210 there are also six drums 214 of which only two are visible in the drawing. With each drum, a gear wheel 215 is connected for common rotation. Another gear wheel 216 meshing with all the wheels 215 is keyed to a vertical shaft 217 journaled on the platform structure co-axial therewith. The top end of shaft 217 carries a worm wheel 218 which is in mesh with a worm 219 driven by a reversible electric motor 220 mounted on top of the platform. No leads of the motor are shown as many ways are known in the art whereby current can be supplied from a stationary source to a rotating apparatus.

The apparatus according to Fig. 9 can be operated in the following manner. While the platform is standing still, and the cylinder bears thereon with its lower rim, users may enter the cylinder either from the top or through a door as hereinbefore described and lean against the inside of the cylinder wall. Thereupon, the platform may be rotated by wheels such as the wheels 23 of Fig. 1 in engagement with the race 204. The cylinder will be taken along by the guiding pieces 212. When the peripheral speed is high enough so that the friction caused by the centrifugal force will hold the users to the cylinder, the electric motor 220 will be energized so to rotate the drums 214 via Worm gear 219, 218 and gear wheels 216, 215 that the ropes 210 will be wound on the respective drums. Thereby the cylinder will be raised with the users clinging to its wall. In order to avoid a gap between the platform and the cylinder 209, an outer cylinder 221 may be provided between the pillars 205 and cylinder 209. Cylinder 221 which will be secured to the pillars need not extend much higher than the highest level to which the lower rim of the cylinder 209 can be raised. By reversing the motor 220, the cylinder may be lowered again to its original position. Thus the purpose of the invention can be accomplished regardless whether the supporting part is movable in relation to the cylinder or whether the cylinder is movable in relation to the supporting part while both are rotating together.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alterations and modications are possible Without departure from the spirit and essence of my invention which, for that reason, shall not be limited but by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an amusement device, the combination of an axially rotating, vertically positioned cylinder, means for preserving the verticality of the cylinder including a stationary framework circumposed about said cylinder and a series of wheels rotatably mounted on said framework, said wheels being spaced circumferentially about the cylinder intermediate the ends thereof with each wheel rotating about a vertical axis in engagement at its periphery with the cylinder side wall, a horizontal platform within the cylinder, and means for preserving the horizontality of the platform and for connecting the platform to the cylinder for rotation therewith during an axial movement of said platform, including groups of vertically aligned guide rollers carried by and distributed circumferentially of the platform, and vertical guide rails corresponding in number and in spacing to the respective groups, and being mounted in the cylinder Wall, the crosssections of said rollers and said rails being complementarily shaped, whereby said rails provide tracks for the rollers of the respective groups.

2. In an amusement device, the combination of claim 1; the guide rollers having grooves of V-shaped cross-section, the complementary portions of the guide rails being triangular in cross-section for extension into said grooves and projecting radially and inwardly of the cylinder from the side wall thereof.

3. In an amusement device, the combination of claim 1; the guide rollers having grooves of V-shaped cross-section, the complementary portions of the guide rails being triangular in cross-section for extension into said grooves and projecting radially and inwardly of the cylinder from the side wall thereof, each of said rails being formed with a generally at body recessed in the cylinder side wall in llush relation to said side wall.

4. In an amusement device, a combination as set forth in claim l, each group of rollers including a bracket recessed in the periphery of the platform, the rollers of the group being journalled in and being fully enclosed References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 616,041 Vollmer Dec. 13, 1898 920,567 Hayes May 4, 1909 1,081,554 Rodeck Dec. 16, 1913 1,121,813 Dunham Dec. 22, 1914 1,251,305 Troy Dec. 25, 1917 2,586,333 Hoffmeister Feb. 19, 1952 

